The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-10
HOW SEWARD WAS STABBED.
A Tragic Scene Described by, One of
the Witnesses.
From the Washington Star.


From the Washington Star.
A plump, pleasant-faced woman, with
richness of dialect that proclaimed her birth
upon the green shores of Ireland, occupies
the position of messenger in the office of
loans and currency of the Treasury Depart
ment Messengers positions are generally
held by men, most frequently by wounded
soldiers: but this is an exceptional case.
Her name is Margaret Coleman. She was
the houSekeeper Of Secretary Seward and
was painfully injured while trying to i'm
pede the flight of Payne, the would-be
assassin, after his attempt upon Stewards
life.
Yes, and that was terrible night" she
said recounting her experience to a re
porter. 1T was terrible night The way
that Payne cut and slashed at him! And he
was a good man, too! | lived with Mr..
Seward a long time, and heard how he
talked and knew him. He had no bitter
ness in him, and he felt amiable toward
the Southern people. While he wanted 30
free the negroes, he never thought as much
of them as Sumner did lived with Sum
ner afterward, and | used to hear him talk,
too. He was another good man. Mr..
Seward never went quite so far. Many
him say to himself: Yes, the negroes
should be freed. But they should
not be put on an equality with the whites
he would add | have often heard him say
those words. He was a nice man in his
household and liberal with everyone. He
always gave dinner parties once week, at
least, and held receptions on Saturdays.
Democrats and Republicans alike were at
his table. He was too great man to go to
extremes and to cherish bitterness. At the
Saturday receptions hundreds of people
woulh be present, and he always had
refreshments served He used to entertain
the common soldiers and sailors.
THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION
THAT night she continued, returning to
the night of Stewards attempted asSassina-
ton, she was very sick You know about
two weeks before his horses had run away
and, throwing him from his carriage, broke
his jaw. His jaw was bandaged up and
supported in a wire frame and it was
terribly swollen. There was great march
ing and celebration that night on account of
the victory, and everybody was off to see it.
Miss Fannie was in the room with her
father and there was a man nurse from one
of the hospitals there. They had told me
that Mr.. Seward was little easier, and l
had just gone into my room to go TO bed,
when heard Miss Fannie scream. It was
then about 10. | ran into the hall and there
was Mr.. Fred Seward holding himself up by
the door SILL with his face and head all COW
cred with blood so weak that he could not
stand alone And in Mr.. Stewards room
was Miss Fannie screaming, and PAYNE
there with the bloody knife in his hand 1t
was an awful sight that no theatre play
ever came near to. Payne was a powerful
man. He looked as big as two men, and he
was very handsome. He wore gray suit,
with high riding boots up above his knees,
and a soft white hat with a broad brim. He
was powerful and as active as a cat. He
dropped his hat and pistol in the room. |
stood in his way as he went out, and he
simply brushed me aside and rushed out
of the house. He did not hit me, and don't
think he intended to hurt me, but l fell
against door and dislocated my shoulder.
He did not offer to touch Mrs. Seward or
Miss Fannie, and | don't think he would
have hurt me, only in his hurry as he
rushed out He did not want to harm the
women folks, but he tried to kill the men.
HOW PAYNE ENTERED THE HOUSE.
"When he first came to the door" she
continued, land asked to see Secretary Sc
ward, he said he had message from the
doctor. The butler, who went to the door,
you know, was nothing more than boy,
and he did not know what to do Payne
just walked right by him and up the stairs.
His heavy boots made a great noise, and
Mr.. Fred Seward (he was his fathers Score
tary, you know, and was in an adjoining
room came out in the passage to see what
was the matter When he would not let
Payne into the room, Payne reached down
into his boot leg and drew out a revolver
and snapped it right at his breast three
times, but it did not go off Then Payne
took the butt of his pistol and beat him over
the head with it until his head and face was
mass of blood. He did not throw him
down stairs, as many folks think; he Just
left him where he was, too weak to do any
thing. Then he rushed at the bed
WITH A LONG KNIFE.
"Mr. Seward had the presence of mind to
pull the covers over his head and roll over
toward the wall, and the assassin cut and
slashed at him awfully. He cut him in sew
eral places and cut the bed clothes all to
pieces, but did not succeed in striking the
throat on account of the wires that had been
put about the jaw. Seward, all covered
with blood, succeeded in throwing himself
between the bed and the wall, and at first |
thought Payne had thrown him out of the
window. But after the assassin was gone I
got the Secretary up on the bed, and we
tried to do something for him. The man
nurse was all cut and bleeding. Mr. Fred
was nearly dead, and there was nobody to
do anything. OH it was an awful time.
1t was all so terrible; it was like an awful
dream. 1t all did not take more than five
minutes, and the assassin had gone
OFF ON HIS HORSE.
''The soldiers and people got around the
house, but there was no doctor The doctors
were all at President Lincoln's bedside, but
we did not know that. We did not know
that Mr.. Lincoln had been shot For three
quarters of an hour | think we waited for a
doctor, and all the time had to battle the
Secretary's wounds with iced rags to keep
him from bleeding to death.
but he lived to see Payne hanged I lived
with him after that, and then / kept house
for Mr.. Sumner. Then they put me in the
Department here, where guess / can stay
to earn support as long as | live"
YACHT RACES.
Gallant and Easy Victory for the Peer